In moving video, 11-year-old whose mother was deported tells Trump he 'tore our world apart'


Estela Juarez, 11, wrote a letter to President Trump about the pain her family has experienced since her mother was deported to Mexico two years ago, a message she shared during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.
Her mother, Alejandra, came to the United States from Mexico when she was a teenager "in search of a better life," Estela said. She married Estela's father, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, and "worked hard and paid taxes" and was told by the Obama administration that she could stay in the country.
"My dad thought you would protect military families, so he voted for you in 2016, Mr. President," Estela said. "He says he won't vote for you again after what you did to our family." Her mother was deported two years ago, and "instead of protecting us, you tore our world apart," Estela said. Her video included clips of Trump railing against immigrants, calling them "animals" during one rally, as well as of children in migrant facilities crying for their parents.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Estela ended her letter by calling her mother the "wife of a proud American Marine and a mother of two American children. We are American families. We need a president who will bring people together, not tear them apart." Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
August 24 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Putin at Donald Trump's circus, gallons of whitewash, and a foldable cartoon
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in voting
Cartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugs
Talking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play